Balance of Power: Early Edition 04/08/2025
On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz discuss the Trump Administration's plans to move forward with a 104% tariff on many Chinese goods. On today's show, Republican Congressman Pat Fallon of Texas, Bloomberg Politics Contributor Rick Davis, ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn and Wiley Rein Partner Greta Peisch. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Business Insider
18 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Global logistics giant bets big on African and Middle Eastern markets with €500m investment
DHL Group plans to invest around €500 million ($575 million) in healthcare infrastructure across Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. DHL plans to invest €500 million in healthcare infrastructure in Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. The investments aim to address growing demand for pharmaceutical logistics and involve key hubs in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. Focus areas include high-value, time-sensitive shipments like vaccines and stem cells, and ensuring product traceability. DHL Group plans to invest around €500 million ($575 million) in healthcare infrastructure across Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. The move is part of efforts to tap into growing demand, driven in part by China's expanding presence in the region, according to Bloomberg. Annette Naude, DHL's head of healthcare for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), said the logistics giant sees strong growth potential in Africa, with a focus on high-value, time-sensitive shipments such as vaccines, stem cells, and cryogenic materials. 'We see America has come in and cut costs, but we do see other countries coming to the forefront and filling those gaps,' said Naude. 'I went to China and met with several investors who are going to make investments on the African continent. Chinese investment in the region is really big.' Africa, the world's fastest-growing continent by population, is witnessing a sharp rise in demand for pharmaceutical products. According to Grand View Research, the continent's pharmaceutical market is projected to generate $33.8 billion in revenue by 2030. Focus on healthcare As part of its strategy to tap into this growth, DHL is directing about 25% of its €2 billion global healthcare investment toward Africa and the Middle East, roughly €500 million over the next five years, said Annette Naude, head of DHL's EMEA healthcare division. The logistics giant's regional healthcare operations span warehousing, packaging, and supply-chain management, with key hubs in South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. A major focus for DHL is ensuring that medical products, especially drugs and devices, are properly tracked from production to delivery. 'We've built specialized warehouses that support ultra-cold shipments and allow for product serialization,' Naude explained, underscoring the company's commitment to safety and traceability in the health-care supply chain. 'When a doctor issues medicine at the bedside of a patient he has to trust and rely on the network that medicine has been transported through,' Naude said. While tackling entrenched diseases like malaria remains a priority, Africa is also facing new healthcare challenges, said Annette Naude, DHL's head of healthcare for EMEA. One emerging trend is the growing demand for advanced insulin therapies from China, driven by their ease of use and longer-acting formulas that reduce the frequency of injections, a factor appealing to many governments across the continent. Naude also highlighted a recent collaboration between China and DHL to establish a medical devices facility in Kenya. The plant now exports equipment to markets in the Middle East and Europe, showing Africa's rising role in global health supply chains.
Axios
36 minutes ago
- Axios
Congress' "doc fix" spurs value-based care concerns
Physicians are divided over how the massive Republican budget bill moving through Congress would insulate doctors from future Medicare cuts without continuing financial incentives to provide better care through alternative payment models. Why it matters: The "doc fix" championed by the American Medical Association, among other groups, would solve a long-standing complaint about the way Medicare pays physicians. But some physician groups worry it would maintain a system long criticized for tying pay to the volume of procedures delivered and the number of patients seen. State of play: Physician practices that agree to be paid based on patient outcomes get bigger payouts in exchange for taking on the extra financial risk are in line, under current law, for a pay boost through a key adjustment called the conversion factor, starting next year. But the version of the GOP budget bill that passed the House of Representatives would instead create a single conversion factor for all physicians that's updated based on Medicare's measure of inflation. That would leave providers in the performance-based payment models getting higher payments than currently prescribed from 2026 through 2028, but lower payments than outlined in current law after that through 2035, according to an analysis from Berkeley Research Group viewed by Axios. Primary care physicians and providers embracing value-based care worry that removing an incentive for participating in the models will set back efforts to move Medicare toward a more holistic payment system that's meant to improve patient care. "Signals matter in health care," said Shawn Martin, CEO of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "I think it's a signal [to physicians] of an entrenchment back in fee-for-service." The American College of Physicians, the trade group for internal medicine doctors, told lawmakers last month that it's concerned the policy as structured will disincentivize doctors' participation in value-based care. "It's being marketed as a long-term fix," said Mara McDermott, CEO of value-based care advocacy group Accountable for Health. "I don't read it that way. I read it as creating a new cliff." Zoom out: Many provider groups are also concerned that the legislation doesn't fix the 2.83% cut to physicians' Medicare payment that took effect in January. The American College of Surgeons in a May statement praised lawmakers for recognizing that Medicare physician payments have to be adjusted for inflation, but that the legislation's provision "is not sufficient to make up for the 2025 cut, and more work is needed." The other side: The AMA wrote to House leadership last month that it "strongly supports" the provision to consolidate into one conversion factor and tie updates to inflation starting in 2026. Reductions made to the conversion factor over the past half-decade to keep the physician fee schedule budget neutral have made private practice financially impossible for many doctors, the AMA said. "It is absolutely vital that this issue be addressed," the letter to House leaders said. The AMA disagrees that the provision would discourage participation in alternative payment models, it told Axios in an email. Although payment updates to alternative payment model physicians starting in 2029 would be lower than current law provides, those doctors will still get positive payment updates overall, it said. Between the lines: The policy would go into effect as the Trump administration seeks to leverage Medicare alternative payment models to drive HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s priorities of prevention and personal choice in health care. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told Axios it does not comment on proposed legislation, but said it's continuing to prioritize policies that encourage providers to join payment models that reward high-value and coordinated care. Reality check: Just about all physicians and physician trade organizations agree that stable Medicare payment updates with some link to inflation is necessary to ensure continuous access for Medicare patients, AAFP's Martin said. It's "extraordinarily healthy" for physician advocacy groups to have different opinions on exactly how to reach that conclusion, he added. The Senate is currently debating what to include in its own version of the reconciliation bill.
Newsweek
37 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Mikie Sherrill's Chances of Beating Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey: Polls
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Democratic New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill is set to beat her Republican rival Jack Ciattarelli in the upcoming election for governor, according to a poll. According to a SurveyUSA poll, released the day after Ciattarelli and Sherrill secured their respective nominations on Wednesday, the Democrat led his GOP rival by 13 percentage points. The Context Along with Virginia, New Jersey is one of the two states holding gubernatorial elections this year to replace New Jersey's incumbent Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, who has a term-limit. The Republicans have not won a gubernatorial election in New Jersey since 2013 and has voted for a Democrat in every presidential election since 1988. But the GOP has seen increasing success in the state in recent years, with Trump increasing his vote share by 10 points in 2024. This was the best showing by a GOP presidential nominee in two decades. Split image of Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, left, and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, right, who will face Sherrill in New Jersey's gubernatorial contest. Split image of Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill, left, and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, right, who will face Sherrill in New Jersey's gubernatorial contest. AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, Mike Catalini, file What To Know Ciattarelli is a former New Jersey state representative who has said he would end any sanctuary policies protecting immigrants without permanent legal status. Sherrill is a United States representative who worked in the navy and as a federal prosecutor. According to the SurveyUSA poll of 785 adults, 51 percent of likely voters said they'd support Sherrill in the November general election, compared to 38 percent who said they'd back Ciattarelli. The poll was conducted between May 28 and May 30. However, a previous survey by the same pollster found that 40 percent of Garden State voters have a favorable view of Ciattarelli, while 41 percent had the same view of Sherrill. There was a larger gap between the two candidates when it comes to their negative ratings, with 29 percent of voters having an unfavorable view of Sherrill, compared to 36 percent who have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican. What People Are Saying Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, previously told Newsweek that while Democrats are the majority party in the state. "It is certainly possible that New Jersey could elect a Republican governor in November. [Incumbent] Governor [Phil] Murphy was the first Democrat to be reelected in more than 40 years, and in that same span, three Republican governors were elected and reelected. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The Great State of New Jersey has a very important Primary coming up on Tuesday. Get Out and Vote for Jack Ciattarelli, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement! His Opponents are going around saying they have my Endorsement, which is not true, I don't even know who they are! We can't play games when it comes to Elections, and New Jersey is a very important State that we must WIN. The whole World is watching. Vote for Jack Ciattarelli to, MAKE NEW JERSEY GREAT AGAIN!" What Happens Next The election takes place on November 4. Five third-party or independent candidates are also running for the seat.
